A Flower Saved by Fire
by Arristo
Summary: Rue was saved from the spear that was her death. But she was saved by a great sacrafice... Rated T for Hunger Games action. Most likely on hiatus for now.
1. Chapter 1

Hello! My name's Arristo. This is my first Hunger Games fanfic so, take it a little easy, okay? Thanks :)

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**Katniss's POV**

"Katniss! Katniss!" Rue cries out far ahead of me.

"Rue! Rue I'm coming!" I call out, assuring her that I was nearby. I ran as fast as I could, my bow in my hands, loaded with an arrow, in case of any other tributes come by. I keep following Rue's cries, which were getting louder and louder, indicating that I am close.

Then, I break through the clearing, and I see her, entangled in a net. She sees me, and I start to run out to her, taking out a knife to cut the net, but then I hear someone approaching. Quickly, I turn and see a boy, from District 1, running towards us, a spear in his hand.

In less than a second, I shoot an arrow, and it strikes it's target. But even though he falls over, the spear had already been thrown. And just as it's about to strike Rue...

I jump without any hesitation in front of her and it doesn't strike Rue.

It strikes me.

I scream in pain and land on the floor. The spear had gone through my stomach, and blood was slowly coming out of the area. I clutch my stomach, without touching the spear, and I see Rue in the net. My knife had landed near her and she was cutting her way out.

There was a snap and she wriggled out. Immediately she drops the knife and comes to me. Her eyes were wide and she reaches out to the spear, but stops.

A cannon fires, but it's not me. It was the boy from District One's cannon. "Katniss." Rue tries to get the spear, but I weakly stop her hands. "L-Leave it." I manage to say. "Please Katniss. You can't go!" Rue once again tries to take it, but I stop her hands again.

"It won't w-work. J-Just leave i-it."

Rue hesitates, but closes her eyes and nods. She puts her arms down, trembling. "You can't go..." she says. "It's going to be okay..." I say. The horrible pain from my stomach worsens, and I hiss in pain. Rue reaches out agian, but holds herself back.

With every bit of my strength, I clutch my mockingjay pin and undo it from my jacket. I handed it to Rue, saying, "Here... You c-can have it..."

"Katniss... I can't take this..." Rue's eyes are filling up with tears. "I want you to have it," I say. "Take all of my things with you. You'll need it to survive." My vision is starting to fade, giving me a sign that my time was almost coming to an end. "Rue, go find Peeta. He's from my district too. Go find him, and tell him about me. He'll protect you."

Rue nods, and I don't feel the pain in my stomach anymore. "Rue, when you find Peeta, tell him to tell Gale Hawthorne to watch over my mother, and Prim, if he makes it."

"I will." Rue promises me. I smile and barely manage to open my arms up. Rue then carefully embraces me, trying to be as gentle as possible. When she lets go, I can't feel anything anymore. I had let everyone down. Gale, Peeta, Haymitch, Cinna, Effie, District Twelve, my mother, and worse of all...

I had let down Prim. I had broken my promise to win for her.

My vision was being closed in by darkness, but there's one more thing I need to say.

"Prim... I- I'm so sorry... Forgive me..." is the last thing I say before darkness takes over me.

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**Rue POV**

"Katniss..." I choke out. I grasp her hand, and she sighs and her eyes slide shut. Her hand falls limp into mine.

The cannon fires, and I know that she's gone. I feel the tears running down my face, and let go of Katniss's hand. I look down into mine, the mockingjay pin laying face-up in my palm. I grasp it tightly, and I pin it on my shirt.

The mockingjay shines in the sunlight, and I get up. I wanted to do some thing for Katniss. Something that I can do for her in return for saving my life. I then spot a bush, filled with flowers, and I know what I wanted to do.

With an armful of flowers, I come back to Katniss's body and sit down. One by one, I place flowers all around her, outlining her body. Then, I find some long, thin grass and by combining it with some of the remaning flowers, I weave a crown of flowers and gently place it one her head.

I look down on the remaining flowers, and realize that they are red, orange and yellow. I get an idea, and place them carefully in her hair, then covering the rest of them along her shoulders. My job was done, and I gather everything from Katniss's backpack, including the knife, and bow and arrows. But I leave out one, and place it on top of her chest, pointing away from her face.

Standing up, I look at her. The red, orange and yellow flowers looked like fire, and it was surrounding Katniss. The arrow showed that she was a great hunter. My eyes fill with tears again, but I was happy that I had done something. I turn to leave, but look at Katniss's body one last time, and with three fingers, I press them against my lips, and point them to her.

"Bye, Girl on Fire." I say. I raise my fingers up to the sky, then drop my arm.

I am Rue, the little, flickering mockingjay of Katniss, the Girl who was on Fire. And I wasn't going to break the promise I had made. So I turn, and head out. I was going to keep my promise, no matter what happens.

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So, what'd ya think? Should I continue it? R&R please!

~Arristo~


	2. Chapter 2

So, as you guys wanted, I've decided to continue :) So here's chapter 2!

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**Rue's POV**

I walked through the forest, thinking to myself,_ Where can I find Peeta? The Arena's huge!_

With a sigh, I softly whistled my four-note song, and listened to the mockingjays sing it back. As I kept whistling, I didn't realize that I had came to a clean, clear lake. I opened Katniss's backpack and pulled out a canteen and dipped it into the water.

I drank half of it and filled it up again. I fill up the rest of the canteens that I have and start walking again, hoping to find Peeta. However, I hear a twig snap and some rustling. Quickly, I run towards the nearest tree and climb it as silent as I could.

Peering through the branches, I see a girl with red hair coming to the lake. She stops and scoops up some water in her hand, drinking it carefully. She sits down and pulls out a couple of apples, which confuses me, since I hadn't seen any apple trees around here. "She must stolen some of the Career's food before Katniss blew it up." I say to myself.

I look again and see the red-hair girl get up and run away, even though I don't see anyone else around. But then...

I squint and just a few feet away from where the red girl had sat, there were some gray rocks. However, there was a little bit of blood on them, so silently, I come down from the tree, and come up to the blood. It was still kind of fresh, meaning that someone's here.

So I follow the slim trail, watching around me in case of any tributes come by, and then I find an end. But there's no one here...

I start walking away when I look back one last time, and spot a dot of blonde. Slowly, I come up to it and look closely. Yep, definitally blonde. "Peeta?" I say quietly. My foot shifts carefully, ready to help me take off if it's not.

Without warning, however, a pair of eyes appear through the "rock". I almost shriek in fright but quickly shut my mouth. He camoflauged, just how he did in the Training Center. "Hey... Aren't you the little girl from District 11?" He says, or at least, a mouth says.

"Yeah... And my name's Rue," I extend out my hand, but get no response. "Don't worry, I'm an ally." But Peeta seems to be unconvinced. "With who?"

It takes a while, but I manage to say her name. "...Katniss. And I can prove it." My fingers fumble around, and I show him Katniss's mockingjay pin. Peeta slowly sits up. "She gave it to me." I explain.

This works because his blue eyes soften. "So where is she now?" He asks me. A lump forms in my throat, and I hold back tears. "She..." I start to say, before he gives a sudden hiss of pain.

I look down and by moving some leaves he used to camoflauge his legs, I spy a deep gash, blood slowly coming out from it. His skin was mixed with red, purple, and a hint of green.

"What happened?" I ask, my eyes wide. "Cato," he replies, gritting his teeth. "He cut me."

"That guy from District 2?"

"Uh-huh."

I reach into my backpack and pull out the leaves that I had used to heal Katniss's tracker jacker stings. I chew them up and take them out of my mouth. "I don't know if a bunch of leaves and spit is going to help." Peeta remarks.

"Well, I can try. We used these to heal us back home." I press the leaves against his wound, and almost immediately Peeta sighs in relief. I grin slightly and look at his leg. Part of his skin was slowly turning back to it's original color, but I knew it wasn't enough.

"It's something for now, I guess." I say.

"Thanks anyway..." Peeta said softly. I smile and look around. "We should get somewhere safe. Who knows if any other tributes will come by." I say, getting up. I help him up, but he stumbles, almost falling back. Looks like his leg's not going to help him walk.

"Since you can't climb a tree right now, we'll have to look for something else." I murmer to myself. Wrapping an arm around his waist, I help him walk, though technically, he was half hopping, half limping. Togethere we go through the forest, with me as a watchful eye.

"You know what's weird?" Peeta suddenly says. "What?" I ask him. "Me, a sixteen year old boy, is getting help with walking from you, a twelve year old girl who's smaller than me." He grins.

I giggle and say, "Just because I'm small doesn't mean I can't help out." This gets a smile from him and we continue walking.

I suddenly spot something nearby us. We stop in place and I look carefully.

It was a small cave. And it seemed abandoned.

"Hey look," I point to the cave. "We can stay there." So, with my help, Peeta and I go inside of it.

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Like it? R&R please! I'll make another chapter soon.

~Arristo~


	3. Chapter 3

I am so so sorry that this update was late! But heck, this chapter's worth it. I promise you. :)

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**Rue's POV**

Peeta lies against the cave wall while I search through Katniss's backpack. I pull out the sleeping bag and a full canteen of water, and a handful of edible berries.

"Here." I walk over to him and hand him some of the berries. "How do I know that those aren't poisonous?" Peeta asks me.

"You still don't trust me?" I ask, one of my eyebrows raised. "I don't know, should I?" he replies.

I roll my eyes and pop a berry in my mouth. I chew it up and then swallow it. I waited, and then he says, "Alright alright, I can trust you."

"So here." I hand him the berries, but he doesn't take them. "I'm not hungry." he says.

"Not hungry?"

"Nope."

"Have you eaten anything?"

"Not even before you found me."

"How long have you been there? At the lake."

"Probably, hm... five, six..."

"Hours?"

"Days."

I gasp. _Days_? Almost _six days_? Maybe he's sick. Usually a sick person doesn't want to eat much, so I check his forehead.

Burning hot.

_He's delirious. _I think to myself_._ "You have to eat something." I tell him. I open the canteen of water and hand it to him. Now this, he gulps down, and splashes onto his forehead. As for me, I get wet as well. Blinking, I wipe the water from my face.

"Sorry," Peeta apologizes. "I'm pretty thirsty."

"If your that thirsty, then why aren't you as hungry?" I ask. He says nothing, but just gives a slight shrug. "Come on. At least three."

So Peeta manages three berries and stops. I then told him to rest and that I'l watch. In less than a minute, he's out like a light.

For a few hours he just sleeps, and I watch the outside of the cave. The sun is setting, and night is going to fall soon.

I feel a little tickling sensation on my hand. Looking down, I see a deep blue butterfly on my finger. Slowly I raise my hand, and it beats it's wings slowly. Then, it flies off and flutters around the cave for a bit before landing.

I try not to laugh, because it landed on Peeta's head. Peeta twitches until opening his eyes. He sees my covering my mouth. "What?" he asks, before he gets his answer.

The butterfly slowly crawls down from his head, and sits on his nose. He crosses his eyes, and it looks like he was having a staring contest with the little bug. I hold back a laugh, but it somewhat fails and I giggle.

After a few seconds, the butterfly flies off of Peeta and out of the cave. "Did you do that on purpose?" he asks me.

"Nope. He was on my hand first before going to you," I laugh. "You looked hilarious when you crossed your eyes."

Peeta just rolls his eyes. I smile and turn to the sky, which is turning dark with night.

Suddenly the Capitol anthem starts playing, _loud_. I jump, and look out and see the Capitol seal in the dark sky. "Oh no..." I say. They're going to show Katniss on the dead tribute presentation.

Peeta weakly crawls to the mouth of the cave to see the dead tributes. I follow slowly behind him. But as soon as they show Katniss, I'm going to look away.

First, Marvel, the boy from District One, appears in the sky. Peeta and I say nothing, of course. Nest comes the boy from District 3, who was with the Careers. I suppose he was killed when Katniss blew up the food.

And then that's it.

Wait. That's all?

I stare at the sky, waiting. But Katniss's picture doesn't come on. "Why are they not-"

Suddenly, part of the sky conjures into flames. The light blinds me for a moment, but I manage to see.

The flames continue, and a picture appears in the sky. A girl, covered in flowers, laying face up on the ground.

Katniss Everdeen.

My eyes fill up with tears. I see Peeta's blue eyes turning dull, and his eyes widen immensely. Turning back to the sky, Katniss's picture is flaming, and underneath, letters appear, spelling out:

**Katniss Everdeen, the Girl who was on Fire**

A mockingjay flies up on top of the picture, spreading out it's wings. A golden arrown appears and the mockingjay catches it in it's beak.

Then, it all stops, and the sky returns to it's night sky.

I leave Peeta and into the cave,stiing down in the farthest corner as possible. I cry silently to myself, thinking that it was all my fault because of Katniss's death. Now I wish _I_ had died instead.

There's the sound of shuffling, and I look up to see Peeta plopping down against the wall a few feet away. "Rue..." He calls softly to me. Trembling, I come up to him. "Can you tell me what happened, if you know?" He asks.

Surprisingly, his voice is gentle.

My voice, however, shakes as I try my best to explain what happened. There are so many times where I stop to try to take a few deep breaths, but I manage to make it through.

When I'm done, Peeta isn't saying anything. I look gloomily to the ground, tears falling freely to the cave floor. "You hate me now, don't you?" I say.

I might as well leave him, so I won't bother him, since he surely must hate me by now. Or better yet, just have him watch me get killed, most likely by me.

But instead, he tells me, "No, I don't." I look at him, completely shocked. "Y-Y d-don't?"

"Rue, this isn't your fault," he tells me. "I'm sure Katniss had her reason. And now that I think about it, you kind of look like her younger sister."

"Prim?" I ask. "I heard that she loves her so much."

"She does. And because of that, you probably reminded her of Prim so much that she wanted to protect you."

I feel a huge weight being lifted from me, and I don't feel bad anymore. Wiping my tears away, I sigh and stand up.

"Let's get some sleep." I assure him. Heck, he doesn't even need to be told twice. He spreads the sleeping bag on top of him, and uses his arm as a pillow, closing his eyes.

I shiver as I sit down next to him. These nights are seriously cold, thanks to them Gamemakers. I fold my arms and hug my knees. Resting my head on my top of my knees, I listen to the sounds of the crickets chirping in the night, and manage to fall into a light sleep, despite the fact that I'm exhausted.

However, I hear the sound of scuffling, even though I'm too tired to open my eyes. I feel something, or possibly someone, laying me down, onto the bare floor. My head lies onto something cushion-like, and I find out that it's the backpack.

Something smooth and warm covers me from my shoulders to my boots. It feels like a blanket. I try to open my eyes to see what's going on, but I just can't. The last thing I hear is some shuffling and a sigh from next to me.

Then there's silence.

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**Peeta's POV**

I spread the other half of the sleeping bag on her, and straighten it out. Her eyes flutter slightly, but they remain closed. She sighs and lies still.

With a breath of relief, I settle down. I hold back a hiss of pain as a jolt of pain sears through my leg. Gritting my teeth, I lie down carefully, and the pain disappears.

I look at Rue one more time, who hasn't moved at all, except for her slow breathing. She doesn't deserve to be alone out there. I owe her for helping me out.

And, she did one of the greatest things for Katniss, honoring her by decorating her with those flowers. With a sigh, I get under the sleeping bag, I rest my head on my arm and my eyes close.

I fall asleep.

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R&R please! I'll see ya soon.

~Arristo~


	4. Chapter 4

Hello there! Here's the new chapter.

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**Rue's POV**

I awaken to the feeling of water on my face. Blinking, my vision clears and I sit up. A drop of liquid hits me on the forehead. Looking up, I see water dripping from a rock from the ceiling.

Looking outside, the sun is up, and shining brightly. I can hear mockingjays singing back and forth to each other. I look over to Peeta, who's still fast asleep. Getting up, I walk out to get some air and gather some berries.

As I gather berries, I whistle my tune and listen to the mockingjays. It seems peaceful, until suddenly the sound of a microphone suddenly booms in the air.

"Congratulations to all of the remaining tributes!" Claudius Templesmith's voice echoes. I sigh. Now what's going to happen?

As I walk back to our cave, Claudius speaks, "The time has come, and I invite all of you to the feast over at the Cornucopia tomorrow at dawn. Each of you need something, and over at the feast is where you will get it..."

I've forgotten. The feast is where the tributes gather at the Cornucopia. I hold the berries in my hand and walk back to our cave, while Claudius continues on.

"Another word. There has been a simple change in rules. The Gamemakers have decided to let not one, but two tributes win. The remaining two tributes will be the winners of the 74th Hunger Games. Good Luck to you all!"

Now I stop. I take in every word he just said. _Two winners... _I think. I nearly drop my berries, but I hold onto them and break into a full run.

Skidding to a stop, I come back into the cave. Peeta is awake, and when he sees me, he sighs in relief, "Geez, you scared me. I woke up just now and thought you were gone or something."

"I'm fine. I just got some berries," I sit down next to him. "Did you hear Claudius Templesmith?"

"No, I just woke up now. Why? What'd he say?" Peeta takes just one berry and slowly eats it, knowing I would make him sooner or later.

"First, he told about the feast at dawn tommorow. And," I pop a berry into my mouth. "He said that the Gamemakers have changed the rules, and now two tributes can win this time."

Peeta nearly gags on the berry he was eating. "T-Two? But the rules aren't usually changed..." "Well. that's what Claudius said." I reply. Peeta just nods, but then he gasps in pain. I just reach into my backpack to search for more leaves, when...

Suddenly, I hear a soft thud outside. Both of us turn to the opening of the cave. "What was that?" I say. I pull my slingshot out of my pocket and grab a sharp rock, ready for defense. "Rue, be careful." Peeta warns me.

Silently, I go to the cave opening, and peer out. Nobody's out here, but I look all around. "No one here." I say. But then I spy a silver parachute out of the corner of my eye. A sponsor.

Putting my slingshot away, I pick it up, and come back into the cave. "A sponsor." I explain to Peeta. "For who?" he asks.

Looking carefully, the label reads **Rue, District 11 and Peeta Mellark, District 12. **"That's funny... Sponsors don't do two people at once..." I mutter, but I shrug.

"For me and you." I say, and I open the metal container. Inside has a small, yet reasonable, container of cold broth with mushrooms and some herbs, and also some bread from my District, both marked with a piece of paper with the number 11. Peeta has a large biscut, and a small cup of orange juice

"It's broth, and some of my bread," I pull out the container and bread. "Here." I hand him his biscut and small cup of orange juice, but he turns it away. "Not hungry."

Placing my palm on his forehead, his fever hasn't decreased very well. After handing him my canteen of water, I just eat my own bread. I place out his biscut and juice and place it down, then go out and let the soup boil on some very hot rocks.

I wipe sweat form my forehead. It's really hot out here. What are the Gamemakers thinking of now? A heat wave?

After the soup's done boiling, I take it back and with enough persuasion, he eats about half of it before persuading _me_ to eat the rest. After that, I check his injured leg.

"We _have_ to do something about your leg." I say, applying some more leaves onto the wound. Not even these were much. Wait. The feast...

"The feast..." I say quietly. "The what?" Peeta asks, sitting up. "The feast. Claudius said that there were things that every tribute needed something. Maybe there's medicine for your leg!"

"No." Peeta suddenly interuppts. "What?" I stare at him in shock.

"Rue, I'm not letting you go out there just for me. Your younger than me. I don't want you to get killed out there just because of me."

"Your leg-"

"So what about my leg?"

"Peeta-"

"No Rue."

I sigh in defeat. Looks like nothing's gonna pursuade him. "Well, just eat your biscut and juice at least." I say. Peeta obeys, and takes one bite of it and then drinks his juice.

"That's odd..." He says. "What?" I ask.

"Both of these taste really sweet."

"That's probably how it is."

"Not like when I-" Peeta stops and he slumps over, eyes drooping. "Peeta?" I ask. What was happening? "Syrup..." Is all he says before falling asleep.

Worried, I pick up the biscut and take a sniff. Oddly, it has a sweet smell. But then I recognize it.

"Sleep syrup..." I mutter. Sleep syrup is what makes a person fall asleep, usually used for patients who are sick. But why would the sponsors do that?

I peek back into the container and spy a note, which reads:

**Stay alive, Lover Boy, no matter what. **

**- H**

"H?" I mumble, but I realize it was from Haymitch, District 12's mentor. But why would he get sponsors to knock Peeta out like this?

Then it hits me. My sponsors and their sponsors must've gotten together, for a crazy reason that I don't know, and added the syrup to Peeta's food.

They want me to go to that Feast and get whatever is there.

Placing the note back into the container, I look at Peeta for a moment. Then I get the leaves and apply them to his injured leg. I can see the red marks from slight blood poisoning. If there's no medicine, then I don't know what'll happen...

Placing the sleeping bag over him, I pack my slingshot and ammo before heading out. But I come back and stoop down next to Peeta. I stroke his hair for a little bit, before getting up and heading outside. But there's one more job for me to do.

After gathering a bunch of leaves and rocks, I place them around the cave, and soon, the cave looks camoflauged, but good enough for me only to see it.

I head towards the Cornucopia, wondering what would be there...

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R&R please! See you in the next chapter!

~Arristo~


	5. Chapter 5

Hello there! Here's the new chapter. Short, but has a little action in it!

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**Rue's POV**

As I walk to the Cornucopia, I thought of how I was going to grab the backpacks without getting killed by the other tributes. I have to make sure I don't get caught.

As the time passes, I gather some more food and even walk to the lake for water. Then I just walk around, careful of my surroundings.

Night soon falls and I climb up a tree. Nobody's dead today. I curl up on a branch and wait for dawn. Soon, I'm asleep.

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When I awaken, the daylight blinds my eyes, but I shake it off. I make sure I have everything I need, then climb down carefully. Then, I walk to the Cornucopia.

When it comes into view, I hide behind a tree. I take a good look at the area. In fron of the Cornucopia are tables. Each table has a small backpack, with something that we need inside. No tributes. But I hold my slingshot and ammo in my hand, just in case.

Suddenly, I hear a snap. The red haired girl runs out of the Cornucopia and grabs her backpack and runs off. I didn't see that coming. That was very smart of her to think of that!

Looking around, I lower down, plaing my feet in the right positions. "One... Two... Three." I count, and break into a full run.

I head over to the table labeled 12. Grabbing the single backpack, I turn and grab one of the backpacks from the table that says 11.

I start running back when I hear a whoosh. I duck and see a knife pass over me. Quickly I shoot one of my ammo in the direction of where it was thrown.

I keep running, not daring to look back. I was almost to the woods, just a few more yards.

Suddenly, I trip over a rock and I fall down. I try to get back up, but the someone holds me down.

Clove.

As I struggle, she says, "Oh look. Your the little girl from District Eleven! Weren't you friends with that "fire" girl?"

She goes on. "Yes, Katniss, the girl who was on fire! Ugh. She was supposed to be mine and Cato's kill! But no, you had to let her die from that guy from District One! You could've saved her for us, you know."

I desperatly try to break through, but Clove holds me down. She reaches into her jacket and pulls out a knife.

"Oh, well. You'll be with that stupid girl very soon. But first, I think I'll start cutting your face up, just for good measure." She slowly brings the knife to my face.

I squeeze my eyes and prepare for the end...

When I hear a scream and the weight of Clove lifts from me. I open my eyes to see Thresh, from my District, holding Clove in midair by her jacket collar.

"You leave her alone!" Thresh says, his eyes filled with anger.

"No! Let me go!" She cries. But Thresh throws her to the ground, and grabs a large rock. "Cato! Cato!" Clove cries. I hear Cato from somewhere, but I know he's too far.

"Close your eyes Rue." Thresh tells me. I obey and squeeze my eyes closed. I didn't want to see anyway. I hear the sounds of Cloves screams, and a loud crack.

I open my eyes slowly and see Clove on the ground, her head bleeding. Thresh throws the bloody rock behind him. I stand up and was about to say thank you, when I hear footsteps coming.

"Run Rue, run!" Thresh tells me. "Thresh, come with me! I know where-" I begin. "Hurry Rue!" he yells. The footsteps get louder and I run. I turn and see Thresh running off with two backpacks in his hand. Then, I spy Cato coming. He kneels next to Clove, shocked.

A cannon booms, and I know Clove's gone. I continue running.

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A few minutes later, I come to our cave. Peeta is still asleep, which actually doesn't surprise me. The sleep syrup really knocks him out.

I open the backpack form his table, and find a small box. Opening it, I pull out a small needle, filled with a strange liquid. Immediately, I poke it into Peeta's injured leg and press down on the stopper, until every drop is in his body.

I drop the needle and slump aginst the cave wall. I wince at the few, small bleeding cuts on my hands made from tripping over that rock. Exhaustion takes over me and my eyes slid shut, and I feel my head drop and rest on my shoulder.

Then there's darkness.

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R&R please! See you in the next chapter!

~Arristo~


	6. Chapter 6

Hi! A fast update. Chapter 6. Man I can't believe I'm going this far. Thanks guys! Keep reviewing and such!

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**Peeta's POV**

Groaning, I wake up. The first thing I think of is about that biscut and juice that knocked me out. Why was it like that?

I sit up and look around. It was the middle of the day. I could tell.

I shift over a little, when I realize I moved my left leg. But, why wasn't there any pain? I remove the sleeping bag, and my eyes widen.

It was like as is a miracle just happened. My leg was it's full color again, though it was just still a little red. I move it around, trying to get used to it again, but not to over do it. And I feel even more stronger than ever in days.

How did this happen? I look around and find Rue next to me.

"Rue, have you seen my-" I stop as I do a double take. Rue was slumped against the wall, her head resting to the side, eyes closed. Her right hand was bleeding pretty badly, with small cuts on it.

"What the...?" How did she end up like this? Was there another tribute out there while I was out?

So I actually got to get up by myself and get the orange backpack from the other side of the cave. Then, I look through it until I find some gauze and a piece of cloth.

I was about to bandage her when I almost step on something. Looking down, I see a small backpack, marked with the number 11. Confused, I pick it up, and see what's inside. A small container.

Opening it, it's filled with some type of cream. I take a dab, and rub it on one of my cuts from accidentaly scratching myself against a rock. Almost instantly, it heals, leaving nothing but a tiny stub. I look down at my leg, which still had the cut, even though it wan't bleeding. I rub some on there, andjust like my small cut, it heals and becomes a long stub.

_Wow, I think to myself. How did Rue get this? A sponsor?_

So I stoop down next to her and wipe some of the blood that's coming out of her hand. Then, I get a dab of the "magic" cream and rub it on them. They heal up, although some of them are still kind of open, few still bleeding slightly, so It had to be treated carefully. And because of that, I wrape the gauze on her hand.

Not ever during this time did she wake up. But I know she's still alive.

Seriously, how did Rue get all this? And how is my leg somehow healed? I look at the mini backpack one more time. It takes me a few seconds to realize...

She went to the feast at the Cornucopia.

"Oh..." I nearly fall back. She went there? She could've _died_! That was probably why she had those cuts! And my leg, there must've was medicine over there.

God, she almost killed herself just to save me out there... "Wow..." I mumble. I can't believe she would do all of this for me.

I sit down next to her and fix her head, because believe me, it's not pleasent to have a crick in your neck. Afterward I wrap the sleeping bag around her. She just sighs, not waking up.

My other hand touches the bitten biscut that knocked me out. There's a small slip of paper nearby it. I read it. My eyes widen. So that's why...

I turn to the mouth of the cave, saying, "You are _so_ dead Haymitch..." I know he's going to hear this.

The sky turns dark, and the sound of rain patters against the ground. I turn to see rain pouring outside. "Gamemakers." I mutter, then look at Rue again...

* * *

**Rue's** **POV**

The first thing I feel when I start to wake up is something, or maybe someone touching my face, and then stroking my hair. I don't see anything, yet I can hear the rain pouring outside.

I'm home, inside, in my bed. It's raining outside. My mother is stroking me. I don't know why I'm not outside, but I don't really want this to stop. I sigh, moving slightly under the covers to get warmer.

But then my eyes start to flutter open. I open them slowly, letting my vision clear a little. I'm still in the cave, in the Arena. All of it's coming back to me now.

I look down at my hand. It's wrapped in gauze, with my fingers sticking out, like a fingerless glove. There's a tiny trace of blood showing through, but it's fine.

Whatever is stroking me suddenly begins to stop. My head kind of throbs and it blurrs my mind a bit. I turn and see Peeta, who places his hand down to his side, looking at me. "Hey..." he says. I smile slightly. "Hey..." I reply.

"You okay?" he asks me. "Kind of... My head kind of hurts..." I mumble, still sleepy. "How long was I out?" I sit up, letting the sleeping bag slide down a little. "Don't know. I just woke up about ten minutes ago, and you were next to me."

I nod, staring outside, seeing the rain pour. "Did you see my leg?" I turn to see Peeta, who's grinning. I look at his leg, which was almost fully healed, though it's still a bit red. The medicine worked. I test his forehead. His fever has died down very greatly. "It's a miracle!" Peeta laughs, then does one of those singing parts, where he sings the word "Hallelujah." I burst out laughing, and he joins in. We laugh for a little while.

As I try to catch my breath, he says, "Wanna know how?" "What?" I say.

"You."

My smile fades. Uh oh... "You... know...?" I try to say. "Yep..." He replies. "Oh..." I look back outside. What now?

"Rue..." Peeta calls me. I turn back to him. His blue eyes staring into mine. "You know you didn't have to go out there, just because of me... You probably would've died out there at the feast, trying to get that medicine for my leg. You would've been killed, and it would've been on me."

"I had to Peeta..."

"My leg didn't matter-"

"Not just because of your leg..."

"Wait, what...?"

I sigh, trying not to let tears fall down my face at the memory. "When... K-Katniss... was..." I didn't get to finish my sentence, because I hear a slight thud. We both turn and see a silver parachute floating into the cave.

Another sponsor.

We both turn and I get up to get it, but Peeta says, "Let me get it. I wanna test my leg." So I relax, and he gets up. He actually walks fine now, and in less than a few seconds, he comes back, with a wet conatiner. "For both of us again." He says, handing it to me. I open it, and a gust of steam bursts out, hitting me in the face. It actually feels nice. And it smells delicious, yet familiar.

I look in it. "Whoa...!" I exclaim. I show Peeta, who has the same reaction.

I'm not sure how, but the sponsors have somehow done a big one. The container is filled with lamb stew, rice, cheddar cheese and some baked bread, all completely warm. Peeta almost grabs that bread, but I yank it away. "Hey, we can't just _dive_ in. We'll get sick!" I say.

"Good thinking. But I haven't eaten this since I've been at the Capitol." he says back. I laugh at this. "What?" he asks.

"You wouldn't eat _anything_ while you were sick, and now, you just wanna _gorge_ yourself with this food." I laugh. Peeta smirks and rolls his eyes. "Good point."

So we both manage to divide the food for both of us, while saving more for the next day, if possible. Then, I eat until my part's completely clean, while Peeta does the same.

After we're done eating, I close the container, and place it in my backpack. "You should rest." Peeta tells me. I shake my head. "I've been out since I've came back, so I'll keep watch."

"I've been out for longer than _you_ have. You need to rest." This, I can't argue with. I sigh and lay on the backpack, curling up. Peeta spreads the blanket on me, and I almost fall asleep, but I somehow can't. "Peeta, I say. "Hm?" he replies.

"Could you... you know... stroke my head like earlier...?" I ask, nervously. "Oh. Why, are your scared?" he asks me.

"Not exactly, but, before I woke up, I felt your hand and for a minute, I felt like I was home, in my home, while it was raining. Your hand felt like my mother stroking me, and... I haven't felt that for so long..."

Peeta doesn't say anything after that. I sigh. "You don't have to-"

"No no, it's okay."

"A-Are you sure?"

"Yeah..."

I curl tighter underneath the blanket. He starts stroking me again, and I sigh. My eyes close, and the rain lulls me to sleep, like a nature lullaby.

* * *

R&R please! See you soon!

~Arristo~


	7. Chapter 7

Hello! Sorry for the late update. Been busy...

* * *

**Rue's POV**

I open my eyes, blinking slowly. The sunlight is filling the cave, but it's kind of 's already sunset. How long was I asleep?

I sit up, throwing the sleeping bag off of me. "Peeta? I say quietly. "Yeah?" I see Peeta right next to me, as where he was before.

"How long was I asleep?" I rub my eyes, yawning. "For about... hmm... close to six hours..." he tells me. "What? Almost five hours... Peeta, you should've woken me up!" I say, feeling more wide awake.

"You need more rest than me. Heck, I probably would've let you sleep until night if you hadn't woken up!"

I sigh, shaking my head. Once again, I can't argue with that.

"Okay, it's your turn." I hand him the sleeping bag. But he lies on top of it instead of covering himself with it. "It's kind of hot in here..." he explains, before turning over onto his side, facing away from me. I stare out into the opening, listening to some grasshoppers clicking. I start humming a tune, one of the working tunes that I used to sing in my District while picking fruit from the orchards.

I turn back to Peeta, who's already asleep. His mouth is hanging a bit open, and his head is lying on his arm. I smile and turn back to the opening, watching...

* * *

About four hours later, I shake Peeta awake. "Peeta..." I say gently. He moves a little, before opening his eyes. "Huh..." he moans sleepily. "C'mon, we gotta eat something." I say.

Peeta yawns and gets up. I open the orange backpack and pull out the container that has the lamb stew and rice, plus cheese and bread. It's still kind of warm, so I divide it up again, altough there isn't much left after we eat. "Wow, only today that we had this and we're already running out..." Peeta says as I put away the remaining food.

"I know..." I reply. "That's why we should get more berries. We're running out on that too." "Good idea..." Peeta agrees. We get up, and I grab Katniss's backpack. Then, we head out.

We walk together, through the forest. I find some berry bushes and pick those, but it's still not enough. Weirdly, there were plenty of these many days ago.

Snap! Crack! Peeta steps on many twigs, wincing at the loud sounds. He mouths the word 'sorry' to me as I turn to him, looking bewildered. "You're seriously loud..." I say quietly.

"I haven't walked much out here in a while." He replies. I then remember. He was camoflauged at the river. That's not much walking.

After an hour, I have enough berries, and a canteen full of fresh water from a pond. I open the backpack, when something almost pokes me in the eye. "Hey..." I pull it out.

Katniss's bow and arrow. I forgot I had this.

"Peeta, are you good at archery?" I ask. He turns to me and his eyes widen. "Is that..." he starts. I nod. He takes it into his hand. I hand him an arrow, saying, "Try to shoot the tree."

He fumbles with it before pulling the arrow back onto the string. He aims careully, before letting go. Unfortunately, the arrow only makes it halfway. "Nope. Not good at it." He says as I gather the bow and arrow. "Let me try." I ready the arrow carefully, and look at the tree.

I let go. The arrow flies, and actually lands on the tree!

"How. Did you. Do that?" Peeta stares at me in awe. I shrug. "It's actually like handling my slingshot." "Lucky duck..." he says, before almost stepping on a bush. "Hey, this bush has berries on it," he says. "Weird, I haven't seen these kind before." He gathers a handful.

I stare at the berry that he holds in his palm. It's a dark blue, with a tige of purple, and shaped almost exactly like a rasberry. It looks familiar. My eyes widen. "Peeta! Drop it!" I say loudly. He jumps, dropping the berries. "W-what?" he stammers, still shaken up.

"Those are nightlock berries. Poisonous." I explain. "Really? Geez, thanks for the heads-up." Peeta says.

I nod, and look around. The sun was already gone, and night was coming now. "We should head back." I tell Peeta, and we had back to the cave. The stars are already out by the time we settled.

After a few minutes, the Capitol Seal appears in the sky, along with Capitol anthem. "Who's dead tonight?" Peeta asks. "Let's go see." I say, walking to the opening of the cave. Looking into the sky, I see Clove. I shudder at her picture as the memory of my near death came to my mind. Next comes the red-haired girl. I'm surprised. How did she die?

Then, I spy a trace of dark purple juice on her lip. I realize that she ate some nightlock berries without knowing they were poisonous.

Then she disappeared, and...

Thresh came into the sky. My jaw drops and I feel paralyzed. Thresh can't be gone...

His picture fades away, and that's it. Slowly, I turn around, and walk back into the cave. "Who's gone?" Peeta asks me. Trying not to cry, I say, "Clove, the red-haired girl-"

"Wait, the red girl died?" Peeta interuppts, shocked. "How?"

"I saw her picture. She ate some of the nightlock, and didn't know they were poisonous."

Peeta, still surprised, nods. "Anyone else?"

My lip quivers. "And... a-and... T-Thresh..." I manage to say. I hold back a few tears as I say his name.

"Thresh... the guy from your district?"

"Yeah..."

"How?"

"I-I don't know... I think... m-maybe Cato..."

I can't say the rest. I can't hold it in any longer. Tears pour from my eyes and I start crying. "Hey, it's alright..." Peeta pulls me into a hug. "He fought well. I bet he did..."

I become angry now. "Because of me..." I say, pulling away.

"Rue, you didn't-" "

Yes I did!" I shout angrily. "He killed himself out there at the Cornucopia for me! I don't want everyone risking their lives for me anymore just because I'm the youngest! First Katniss, you keep trying, and now Thresh! Eveyone that I know killed themselves for me (Except Peeta)! I just hate it!"

Peeta simply stares at me. Breathing heavily, hot tears go down my face as I get on my knees, head hung low. I keep crying, even when Peeta tries to comfort me by hugging me and patting me on the back, saying comforting words.

After crying for a long time, I fall asleep...

* * *

The next day I wake up in Peeta's arms, who is still asleep. I don't move, since I didn't want to wake him up just yet. The events from last night flood into my mind and I immediately feel bad for yelling.

I here a groan and I turn to see Peeta waking up. He sees me

"I'm sorry." I say.

"For what?"

"For yelling like that last night. I shouldn't have done that."

"You couldn't help it." Peeta strokes my hair, then pokes me in the belly, smiling. I laugh, smiling back.

Afterward, we go through the day, taking turns watching, gathering a little more food, and I even master Katniss's bow and arrow. Despite being in the Arena, I actually enjoyed today.

However, we ate the rest of the food from the Capitol, so now we were back to berries and water. "Maybe a sponsor will come." Peeta suggests as we eat the last bits of food. "Maybe."

We walk outside, lying down on a patch of grass as the sun disappears. I see the mockingjays above us and I whistle my four note tune. Then we listen to the mockingjays singing my song, overlapping each other in a perfect orchestra.

It ended, however, when they stopped dinging and one gave a high-pitched warning call. "What's going on?" Peeta asks, covering his ears. "I don't know." I reply

Suddenly, the sound of a twig snapping echoes through the air. It becomes silent.

"Do you hear that?" I say. The area grows quiet, and we both listen. The sounds of footsteps are nearby, getting louder, and louder, and louder...

Until we both turn to see a tall, muscular boy coming this way.

Cato.

But he keeps running, past us. I looked at Peeta, confused, before suddenly, I see something in the bushes.

"Peeta... RUN RUN RUN RUN!" I scream, and without even thinking, we follow Cato, running as fast as we can.

Because right behind us, were vicious beasts, coming our way...

* * *

Oh dear... Cliffhanger... Dun dun dun! XD

R&R please! See you soon!

~Arristo~


	8. Chapter 8

Hello! Sorry if this took forever, but I went to California for a week and stayed in a hotel with no computers! But, here it is anyway!

* * *

**Rue's POV**

Peeta, Cato, and I are run for our lives, the vicious growls of the beasts right behind us. I don't know where we're going, but I hope it's safe.

I look behind us to get a good look at these things. Their like wolves, but sized differently. Muttations. A lot of them are coming, but why do they look somewhat familiar?

The Cornucopia comes into view, and we race towards it. Peeta and Cato climbs up with me right behind them. I reach the top and Peeta pulls me into a safe embrace, eyes wide.

I look at the muttations again. Now, the Gamemakers have gone too far.

They look so familiar though. I squint at one of them, who has blonde fur, green eyes, and a collar with the numer 1 on it. She looks alot like that Glimmer girl from District One...

I look at another muttation, who seemed a bit taller, and has brown fur, with a collar that also read 1. He looks like the boy who tried to kill me...

"Oh my god!" I yell. I now know why these were familar.

The muttations were the tributes who died! How the heck did the Gamemakers do this? Planted wolf DNA into their bodies and turned them into sick monsters?

Peeta and I hear a loud growl. We turn to see a mutt running and jumps, right towards us. I shriek, but the mutt is punched away by Cato, who punches another one.

I look around more. There's another one that's familiar, with dark fur and hateful eyes. Clove. Then there's the boy from District 9 mutt. And I see the only one with red fur and a sleek body. The Red Hair Girl.

How could it get any worse?

Suddenly, there's a loud howl and the muttations back away, surrounding the Cornucopia in a circle. In front, a few of them back away and one comes in front, as if it was the leader.

This one has olive and dark brown mixed fur, with a collar that reads 12. It's eyes are a familiar shade of gray. I freeze in place at once.

Katniss...

"Rue, what is it?" Peeta snaps me out of my trance. "The muttations..." I say. "Their the tributes who died, and..." I point to the leader. "T-that's K-Katniss..."

Peeta looks for a moment before his eyes widen. "Oh my god..." he whispers. The Katniss muttation gives a few barks, and a howl. Then the rest of them charge towards us. Most of them try to climb, scratching the metal walls, but some are brave enough to jump.

One particular one jumps towards me and Peeta. I duck, and Peeta punches it in the stomach, sending it back down. I look to see it's the biggest one by far, with dark fur, a strong body, and familiar eyes. "That's Thresh..." I say.

Another one jumps up, but I pull out my slingshot and grab one of my rocks. I launch it and it hits the wolf, sending him down, but it shakes it off and growls. I put away my slingshot and pull out Katniss's bow and arrow. I shoot it and it hits another mutt who just jumps up and it falls to the ground, dead.

I keep shooting, and occasionally, Peeta punches one. But soon I'm losing ammo, and just at that time, a mutt jumps up and even though it doesn't make it up here, it's good enough to grab my leg. "Ah!" I yell as the mutt pulls me down. My hands somehow stick to the wall of the Cornucopia, so I'm just there, hanging for dear life while the mutt yanks my leg, well, technically by my boot. I shake my leg, but the mutt bites harder, just enough to get my skin.

Hissing in pain, I thrash harder. "PEETA!" I scream at the top of my lungs. Peeta hears me at once, and grabs my arms just as I start to let go. He pulls me while I kick wildly, trying to free my leg. Then, with a final kick, the mutt lets go and I scramble up.

I hyperventilate, while crying at the same time from my experience and from the pain. Peeta pulls me into a hug, holding me tight. I fumbled the gauze from my hand and Peeta takes off my boot. The bite marks are deep and bleeding, my sock turning pink from the blood. I hiss in pain as Peeta wraps my ankle, and carefully places my boot back on.

"It's okay, you're fine." Peeta assures me as I cry in pain.

Suddenly, someone grabs me and I'm lifted into the air, and I look down, dangling over the edge of the Cornucopia. Cato is holding me by the jacket collar. Peeta gets up and runs to my aid but Cato warns, "Nope, I wouldn't do that. One blow, she goes down. And If I go, she goes too."

So Peeta stands there, not moving. I struggle, trying to free myself, but Cato's grip is firm. The mutts underneath me on the ground are growling, snapping their jaws. "So, Lover Boy, what are you gonna do?" Cato asks. "Let the mutts take care of her? Fight me? Or, maybe I'll just take care of it myself."

Peeta does nothing. I struggled, but remember something. I mouth to Peeta, getting his attention, and when I do, I point with my eyes down by his feet, where the bow and three arrows lay. He grabs them and pulls the arrow.

Cato acts surprised. "Did you not hear me? If you shoot me, she becomes the mutt's dinner."

I look at Peeta, and point silently to his hand, the one that's grabbing me jacket. He looks at me, shocked, but I nod.

So he pulls the arrow, aiming carefully. _Please work, please work..._ I plead in my mind. Then, I see the arrow whiz, and it reaches the target.

Cato yells in pain and lets me go. I grab onto the edge of the mouth of the Cornucopia, climbing slowly back up. Cato yanks the arrow out, and at that moment, Peeta runs up and punches him. Cato stumbles back, to the very edge, almost close enough to fall over.

So, I make a fist, and pucnh his leg as hard as possible. The surprise attack shocks him, and he's caught off guard, and he trips, and down he falls. Just as he is, he grabs my leg, yanking it before letting go. That gets me off guard and now I am hanging by one hand. "Help!" I cry.

I look down at Cato, who is fighting off the Muttations, punching them and thrashing about. But his strength weakens and the mutts overcome him, so the muttations get him and bring him down. What they do to him, I don't know, so I turn away. I all hear is the sounds of his screams inside the Cornucopia, where they probably dragged him in there.

Peeta comes, saying, "Quick! Your hand!" I swing, trying to reach his hand, and just as I lightly grip it, one of the mutts notices me and barks, jumping up and gets my pants, ripping a part of the fabric. The force was so strong that my grip in Peeta's hand loosen's and my fingers slide and...

I let go.

"RUE!" Peeta screams. I scream as I plummet to the ground. This was it. I'm going to die. This was my death. The mutts are going to get me.

The impact on the ground is so strong, that it makes me black out...

* * *

Oh noes! What's gonna happen to Rue? Is she gone? You're gonna have to wait to find out...

R&R please!

~Arristo~


	9. Chapter 9

Hello! I'm back with another chapter, so, here.

* * *

**Peeta's POV**

"NO!" I scream. This can't be happening, it can't be.

Rue was just there, she was almost up here, but then the stupid mutt had to yank her and...

I see her fall and she hits the ground, unconscious. The remaining mutts are surrounding her, as if they were preparing to attack her.

"Get away from her!" I shout, preparing to jump down, but I immediately stop. Some of them are also right below me, snarling and growling.

Looks like I'm not going anywhere.

"Oh God..." I whisper. How am I going to save Rue now?

I check to see if they attacked her, and what I see completely shocks me...

* * *

**Rue's POV **

My eyes try to open, but they're too heavy. Nevertheless, they open.

It's like there's a high pitched humming in my ears, blocking off the real sound of what's going on. My vision isn't fully clear, so it's almost completely blurry. My chest is burning.

I manage to see some light, and weird shapes, all around me. I can barely hear some barking, like, dog barks or something.

Another shape appears in front of me, and there's more barking. Then the shapes are gone, leaving the one in front, but it disappears too. Trying as hard as I could, I try too clear up my vision, but it doesn't improve much.

Suddenly, something grabs ahold of me somehow, and before I know it, the blurry scene starts moving. My vision suddenly clears and I see the forest. I'm still in the Arena. I'm still alive!

But how? And who, or what, is dragging me?

Despite that I can see, my head hurts immensley. I try to move, but my arms are too heavy and I can't really feel anything else.

Whatever was taking me suddenly stops. I hear slight footsteps and soon...

I'm face to face with Katniss's muttation, staring at a pair of gray eyes.

Adrenaline fills me and my body unlocks itself. With a shriek, I back away, but my back's against the wall of the Cornucopia. But she walks up to me, only one foot away.

"Rue?" I look up to see Peeta, looking down at me, eyes wide.

The Katniss mutt growls slightly. "Peeta... Back away... a little..." I croak, my throat burning. He hesitates, but obeys. The Katniss mutt stops and faces me again. It looks down a little, looking at the Mockingjay Pin that I'm still wearing.

It's eyes softens as it sees it. I'm just sitting there, almost paralyzed. Suddenly it comes to my side, and sits.

_Rue, it's me..._ A familiar voice speaks in my head.

"Who... Who's there?" I speak softly. Was I thinking things? I turn to the the Katniss mutt, who is simply staring at me.

_Rue, it's Katniss... It's me..._ The voice keeps speaking. Wait, it's voice was..

"Katniss?"

_Yeah, it's me..._

"This... This isn't real... This has to be another trick..."

_It's not..._

"Then how is it you? How can I know it's not a lie?"

_Rue, who else knows besides Peeta that you were following us in the Training Center?_

"Oh my god..." I gasp. It _was_ her_._

"How are you doing this?"

_Let's just say that the Gamemakers don't really know what happened when they got some of my DNA and made my own mutt._

I can't help but smile. The Gamemeakers must've made a mistake or something...

Suddenly, the air fills with a low rumble. I turn to see the mutts running back, disappearing.

_Looks I have to go..._

"No, don't. Please..."

_I'm not, well, I'm only going physically. But, I'm still here..._

I turn to see Katniss's Mutt looking at me one more time, and she turns and runs off.

_Bye Rue, and tell Peeta I said hi, 'kay?_

I sigh. "I will..."

Soon, all of them are gone.

"Rue?"

There's a soft thud, and Peeta comes up to me. I can't hold it in any longer, and tears fall down my face. Peeta quickly embraces me, holding me tight, whispering, "It's okay... You're fine..."

"Peeta..." I say. "What?" he asks, letting me go. "I-I was-" I stop, and looking around, I whisper the rest of the sentence in his ear. I don't want the world to know it.

"Really?" he says, surprised. I nod. He has nothing else to say.

"Hey... What happened to Cato?" I ask. We face each other before slowly getting up. Peeta helps me as I hop on one foot, well, because my leg is still pretty bad. Soon, we're at the edge of the mouth of the Cornucopia. Slowly, we look in. And what I saw almost made me throw up right there.

The scent of blood couldn't be worse than what I saw. Cato, wasn't really him anymore. He was covered in his own blood, gashes, bite marks, scratches all over him, some looked like they cut his limbs off. He's moaning and groaning in pain.

"Oh God..." I turn away, covering my mouth, my eyes squeezed tight. I take deep breaths and face him again. I see him facing us, his lips barely making out any words. "What is he doing?" I ask.

Peeta replies, "He's begging to take his life out, for mercy..."

He then goes on the side of the Cornucopia, climbs up, and comes back down, Katniss's bow and a single arrow in hand.

"Here." he says, handing them to me. I gasp. "No, I-I can't Peeta..." "You can do it. Besides, you're the better shot," Peeta replies.

Trembling, I face Cato, looking at me. Slowly, I raise the bow, it's last arrow perched in the string. I focus on Cato, trying extremely hard not to miss. "Come on Rue..." Peeta whispers.

I squeeze my eyes shut, and before I let the arrow go, I think to myself that I'm not doing this because I'm trying to win.

I'm doing this for pity, and for his last request.

Boom! The cannon fires, and I know he's gone...

I drop the bow, collasping onto my knees, tears flowing. I've killed someone, for once. Even it was for the best, I don't know if I can forgive myself either way.

"You did good..." Peeta assures me gently, wrapping an arm around me. I can only nod, trembling.

The sun sets and the sky turns dark. Peeta and I sleep on top of the Cornucopia for the night. We don't bother to see who's dead tonight, because we already know...

* * *

I wake up as the sunlight blinds me for a moment. I shield my eyes and sit up. "Peeta..." I say.

He groans slightly and he wakes up. "What?" he says.

"You think the hovercraft got... you know..."

Before he could say anything, the wind picks up and I can see the hovercraft coming. "Come on!" I yell. We get up and slide off. Peeta helps me towards the edge of the forest, and a few minutes later, the hovercraft finishes it's job, and leaves.

"So, now what...?" Peeta breaks the silence.

Suddenly, there's the sound of a microphone turning on. And Claudius's voice speaks, "Ladies and Gentlemen! I give you, Rue, and Peeta Mellark! Winners of the 74th Hunger Games!"

Me and Peeta stare at each other for a single moment, before we hug each other. "Oh my god... We- We've won..." I say.

"I guess the Gamemakers, for once, kept their promise..." Peeta replies.

Then, I hear the wind picking up, and we look up to find a huge, metal, silver hovercraft coming towards us...

* * *

R&R please!

~Arristo~


	10. Chapter 10

Hi ya'll! Man, I'm EXTREMELY sorry for taking FOREVER for this update! But, school just started again for me, and I had a LOT of stuff to get and go through, so... Yeah.

Anyway, here's the chapter you guys awaited!

* * *

**Rue's POV**

We arrive inside the hovercraft as the ladder lifts up inside, closing the door behind us. A blast of cool air from the air conditioning strikes me, informing me that we were finally safe and out of the Arena.

Almost immediately the Capitol people come to our aid. They treat us to medical help, to help relieve us from being out there for so long.

However, I don't feel like myself. My head is hurting, but not because of physical pain. It's like my head is mixed up, like a huge blur, and it's throbbing, but then it stops, and continues over and over, even after the medical treatment. And it's taking over my whole body too. I felt something just as we got into the carrier, but I thought it was something completely harmless.

Not wanting to worry anyone, I just let it try to go away naturally...

* * *

**Peeta's POV**

Rue and I are treated by the Capitol people, giving us medicine, injecting strange substances into our bodies, healing our wounds, and other medical treatment. They also check my leg and give me extra medicine. Soon, we're almost fully healed.

Then, we are treated to food. Not a feast, unfortunately, but soup, crackers, a small sub sandwich, and juice. Rue even receives a chocolate chip cookie as a treat. I get a cup of hot chocolate. It be better though if I had some extra bread rolls, so I can dip it in. I almost stuff all the food down, trying not to make myself sick, but it's completely nourishing and my stomach fills almost immediately. When I look at Rue, she gingerly sips the soup and nibbles on the soup crackers. She doesn't really touch her sandwich or juice, and by the time we're done, she's eaten only almost half of her food, which seriously surprises me.

After dinner, we went down a hall near the medical center, where we would wait for Effie, Haymitch, Cinna, Portia, Venia, Flavius, and Octavia, plus my prep team. Rue's mentor and prep team would come too.

We sit on the bench for a little bit, until the doors burst open and before I even know it, I'm caught in several embraces. Venia, Octavia, and Portia are holding me, sobbing tears of both joy and sadness. "Well done! Well done!" I hear Effie's high voice ring out happily. However, there's a small singe of sadness in her voice too.

"Congratulations, Lover Boy." I can also hear Haymitch's voice too. Portia, Octavia, and Venia let me go, but I only gasp a single breath before _my_ prep team gets me next. Haymitch snickers at the sight, while Effie smiles.

Now, I can breathe as I'm let go. Effie, Haymitch and Portia start talking about my victory, and about all the things I won.

I'm half-listening, and the other half is focusing on Rue. Her prep team and mentor arrives and she is also tackled into hugs. I can see her giggling and smiling, but somehow, I feel that it's all sort of forced.

"We'll, why don't we all get to the sitting room and have a small celebration, hm?" Effie soon says. Everyone agrees, including Rue's prep team, and we travel down the hall in a group. Portia and the rest of the prep teams in front, Effie and Haymitch in the back, me and Rue in the middle.

I notice my shoelace is untied (The Capitol gave me new shoes.) and as I stoop down to tie it, everyone else passes me, walking ahead, but they walk slow for me to catch up.

Well, _almost_ everyone.

I turn around for a second and I suddenly spy Rue, walking slowly, shaking a little. She's clutching her stomach gently, and now I'm sure something's wrong.

"Rue?" I ask. "Are you okay?" She nods slightly, but remains dead silent. Her lips are tight and she's slightly pale, and her eyes are distant and kind of glassy. I could tell something was wrong. But they had already given us medication. She couldn't get sick!

I walk to her and wrap an arm around her. "C'mon, let's catch up with the others." I say gently. By looking at her, my mind tells me that she probably just has a stomach ache. Maybe some of her food didn't cope with her well. I don't blame her, since she mostly eats fruit and vegetables in her District. Or it could be that cookie she also ate.

Either way, we walk together, catching up with the group. We all then enter a nice, well-lit room, with a silver, metal table and chairs in one part of the room. Three, velvet couches are to make a circle around a coffee table, and a brick, electrical fireplace in front of it all.

We all sit in each couch, Effie, Haymitch, Portia, Octavia, Flavius, and Venia sit on one couch, while Rue's prep team, mentor, and my prep team sit on the other. Rue and I sit side by side on the last couch. Two Avoxes come and serve us drinks and chocolate covered strawberries, which are simply delicious. We all chat to one another, starting conversations between one another, sometimes even laughing, since Haymitch did most of that part.

I even meet and manage to befriend Rue's mentor, who's a blonde haired thirty-five year old man named Lyon (A/N: Prounce like the name Leon), and he was a lot different from Haymitch. He dressed nicely, but not like Capitol people style, and he sounded like a guy that gave very good advice, and not sober or a drunk.

I met Rue's prep team too, which include a woman named Salvia, who has long, light green hair, tan skin and is wearing a neon yellow dress with light pinks laces around the brim, and green ballet flats, which really hurt my eyes at all the bright colors, another woman named Talia, with pale skin velvet red, corkscrew curled hair and a pale red strapless top with a black, knee-length skirt with sequins and buttons all over, and high, brick-red heels, and Druce, a tall guy with yellowish-white shoulder length hair, and deep blue eyeshadow. He wore a bright orange polo with black jeans that had weird designs stitched on them.

And then there's Rue's stylist, a woman named Jynnie (A/N: Prounced like the name Ginny) who actually dressed normally. Just a simple, blue dressy shirt with skinny jeans, and black slip on shoes. Her hair was long and dark, but her skin was in-between gold and white.

"You know, I really want to thank you for sticking with Rue," she told me, taking a sip of water from a clear glass. "Normally, I think you would fake the alliance, like lots of other tributes have, but after seeing everything you two did, I somehow knew you wouldn't break."

"It's nothing, really," I say to her. "Well, actually, I _had_ to protect Rue."

"You _had_ to? I don't think you _had_ to protect her, even if you were in an alliance. " Druce asks me, taking off the green leaves and popping a chocolate covered strawberry into his mouth.

"Well, it wasn't all my idea. I wanted to protect her, but the main reason was..." I swallow, trying to erase the sudden lump in my throat that just came. " It was for... K-K-Katniss..."

Everything seems to stop right then. Silence sweeps through the room as everyone stops talking. Now everyone is staring at me, all at the mention of probably the most famous person in all of Panem. Rue scoots closer to me, curling up into a small ball. I could tell she was trying to hide the tears.

I can see Effie's expression turn to sadness, along with the four who were trying not to spill any tears, Venia, Octavia, Flavius, and Portia.

Suddenly Rue gets up, and everyone else's attention, including mine, turn to her. "I-I'm gonna, erm, use the bathroom..." She says, her voice tight and cracked. And when nobody responds, she slowly leaves, walking out the door, closing it gently behind her. Silence fills the room again.

I decided to break it. "Listen, I had to protect Rue because of Katniss. Katniss sacraficed herself to save Rue, for a reason. She told me that Rue looked so much like her sister and it reminded her of Prim. And she's the smallest out of every tribute this year. Katniss saved an innocent child. And if she didn't, I know Katniss would never manage to forgive herself, for letting an innocent child die."

Nobody responds.

"I had high hopes you both would win, but, I didn't expect her to..." Effie starts to say, but stops in mid-sentence. She didn't want to mention about when Katniss sacraficed herself for Rue. Octavia let a few tears escape her eyes.

"To be honest, I didn't expect her to give up completely for that girl," Haymitch says, taking another gulp of a drink he had in a cup. "You should've seen the chaos in the sponsors center, and of the whole Capitol. Completely nuts. But then me and the District 11 sponsors decided to team up, though it wasn't my idea much, and that's why you both got sponsors. We worked together to keep you both alive, and here you are now."

I nod silently. So that's why Rue and I got sponsors together. But it was odd. Were you allowed to do that? No one else says anything, so there's silence, nothing to hear but the crackles of the fire in the fireplace.

"So, who want's fondue?" Portia suddenly interuppts the silence.

Suddenly, just as the awkwardness and sadness was about to disappear, just as the festivity was going to pick up again, there's a sudden high-pitched scream, and a loud thud. More yells are heard from outside the room and into the hall. "My word, what's going on?" Effie shouts. Everyone turns and gets up, and I run to the door, swing it open, and look around. There are two Capitol women out there, a shocked expression on both of their faces. Before I can ask anything they see me, and one of them points at the ground, not saying a word.

I slowly follow her arm, my eyes following it to find the target, and...

"RUE!" I shout.

Rue was unconscious on the floor, all the color drained from her face, her body limp and still. Her lips are twitching very, very slightly. A small, very thin line, no thicker than a wire, was trailing from her mouth and from the back of her head.

"Rue!" I immediately run to her and get on my knees. "Are okay? Wake up!"

She doesn't respond. I hold her hand, but it's cold and limp. I can't even see her chest rising and falling. "Rue!" I shout, not knowing what to do.

There are gasps as Effie, Haymitch and the rest of the group come out and find out what's happening. Druce runs ahead of me, turning around the corner. I check Rue's pulse. It's very, very slow and weak, almost as if it was ready to collapse and stop any moment now.

Just a split second later, two doctors and Druce run towards me and I get out of the way, along with Druce. One of them checks Rue's pulse, and his eyes widen. He mutters something to the other, and he runs around corner, and comes back with a bed with wheels. They carry Rue onto it and push it down the hall like heck. I follow, running like mad, ignoring everyone's cries behind me.

I follow them into the medical hall, and they push through the doors of the operating room. The doors lock as they close, and I pound on them, shouting Rue's name desperately.

Suddenly, there's a sudden sickening jolt of pain in my stomach. Hissing in pain, I clutch my stomach and groan in pain. It worsens immensely and I double over in pain, yelling. I can't focuse on anything, for the pain had taken over my whole body, but the worse part is my stomach and my leg where Cato had cut me. I stand up again, but the world is spinning almost rapidly, and I can't make out anyone or anything. It's all just a blurr.

ANd before I could even think, I feel my eyes roll up and then everything goes black...

* * *

Cliffhanger! Uh oh... What's wrong with Rue and Peeta? You'll have to wait...

By the way, Rue's prep team, stylist, and mentor's names are by me, since it's not known who they actually are, so I just made names for them.

R&R please! See ya soon!

~Arristo~


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